Trusting Jesus...

It takes the Spirit of a man to by-pass the mind
and believe that God is saying.
Yes God speaks.

He speaks for a reason and because He wants to do something
There is 'grace' in surrendering to what God wants to do
His timing is excellent also

Best of all,
You don't have to do anything
If He says something
He will bring it to pass.

You do, however have to learn patience
Patience is staying believing what God has said

I can express this best with the illustration of Abraham whom God had promised a son
and Elizabeth who knew that she would birth a special child even though her husband
Zechariah was a doubter, He believed his body more than he believed God
He was just too darn old, and he focused on this, Luke 1:20 says, he did not believe
Luke 1:13 says, 'he was praying, is it that he didn't expect any answers
So why pray?
Is praying just some part of a ritual we must do to feel good with ourselves?
Or is it a cry for the attention of a gracious and merciful God? Cos He does hear us.

What am I saying today?
You need to engage your spirit, exercise it by speaking in tongues and feeding it with the word of God.
By being perfected in the love of God, by trusting and looking to Jesus always, by strengthening the weak areas in you instead of justifying them by the help of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Ghost wants you to be made perfect in Christ, your will power will never be able to accomplish that, engage the help of the Holy Spirit.
I love Enoch's testimony, it says it was recorded that Enoch pleased God all his days on the earth and that God took him, that is just so awesome to me.

My exhortation: Be diligent, be excellent, fear God, be perfected in Christ love for you. Have a great week marked with the presence of God all through.

Something I learnt this week that I plan to reinforce:
The key to trusting God is meditating on the word of God, day and night and you will be successful indeed!

Guest blogger "Larigold"

I met @lanre_olagunju on twitter though a guy called @ikeamdi whom I met through @eshiemokhai. They are all great guys, you can follow them on twitter. Also @dami_maverick is really good and @masterpiece1618. They are people I talk to regularly. They are not the only one of course and I will mention as I recall.

Okay so @lanre_olagunju says I should post an article he wrote for Mothers Day last year and so here it is.

Why Woman Matter

By Lanre Olagunju

The fact that the first woman is the only creature created from an already existing and living being tells a lot about a woman’s uniqueness and strength. But in a couple of ways, the world is yet to harness the power and strength of a woman. The saddest part is that instead of appreciating and nurturing their uniqueness, women have been subjected to some forms of hardship as a result of their gender.

You look around and you realize that violence on women and other degrading acts has been on a steady rise lately. I’m really glad and impressed that the Nigerian House of Representative has approved the recommendation of life imprisonment for rapist, and a four year jail term or a fine of not more than N 200,000 or both for persons convicted of performing Female Genital Mutilation-(F.G.M) on a woman. I think this should bring some hope of restoring human dignity to our women.

I’ll like to share two stories to buttress the fact that women matter in all aspects of life; that women have a lot more to contribute to our society than just being regarded as mere baby making machines. They practically bring joy and hope to our world. Women make our world more exciting and pleasant. We’ve got to listen and take them a lot more seriously if we’d attain economic or individual progress and prosperity.

For instance, there are several speculations as regard what would have been the state of Lehman Brothers if it were to be Lehman Sisters or perhaps, Lehman Brothers and Sister. Lehman Brothers was founded in 1850 by Henry, Emanuel and Mayer. Lehman Brothers was the fourth largest investment bank in the US and with holdings of over $600 billion, at some point, it was considered as a company too big to fail. Unfortunately, it became the largest bankruptcy filing in history when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. It was actually forced to declare bankruptcy when it experienced drastic drop in share prices after so many clients departed, and also as a result of devaluation of its assets.

The truth remains that the closure of Lehman Brothers played a major role in the global financial meltdown that struck the world in 2008, basically because many big banks all over the world that dealt with them lost billions, leading to the crash of several millions of micro investors.

When you consider that Lehman Brothers crashed due to the high level of risk that were taken by the chief strategist at some points, amongst other bad business approaches and decisions; you just might want to assert the sentiment that our world, probably would have been saved from the present global financial crisis, if such a great investment bank had some feminine administrative influence. See I’m not critically saying that women don’t take risk at all, but the truth is that they are a lot more cautious than men who can be excessively driven by testosterone.

Several studies have supported the notion that women are more risk averse than men. Experts have also researched that women are more trustworthy and altruistic, most essentially when negotiating for others. Going by a though-provoking hypothesis by a Canadian researcher at the University of British Columbia business school, it was discovered that “high testosterone level in men of a certain age are associated with more aggressive decisions that throw caution to the winds.” It then becomes wise and imperative to include and respect the views of women as well in economic matters.

The second story is the sad story I was told about a family who lost three kids in the December 10, 2005 Sosoliso air crash. I learnt that the mother of these kids had a dream prior to the crash. In her dream, she saw coffins and that got her troubled. After she prayed about the issue, she had a premonition that her kids would be involved in a disaster. When her kids were returning home for Christmas holiday, she became more afraid and she prayed that if her kids will be involved when coming home for the Xmas holiday, may God not let them get their flight tickets. Somehow, the kids later called and said they couldn’t get their tickets for one reason or the other. So she agreed and made provision for them to come by road. But her husband won’t share in her premonitions, so he disagreed to the kids coming by road. He later made arrangement to ensure that they travelled by air; unfortunately the family lost all the kids.

The two instances might help to emphasize that men need to build a culture of listening and appreciating women and that involves acknowledging their views and opinions on crucial matters, be it in economic, political or social issues. And this goes beyond celebrating them on women/mothers’ day alone.

The issue is not about erasing the natural differences between men and women, the point is to acknowledge those differences and then harness them as a tool for our collective good.

Happy mothers’ day!  

#Good read

New week, new blessings

It's a new week
I am dropping weights and running with patience
and with faith.

I feel lighter already and my thoughts are clearer
No more unnecessary info and unnecessary directions

The bible says to 'cast down imaginations'
Any time I come across scripture in the bible, I wonder when will I get to use them
What imaginations should I be casting down?
Must I swallow everything I hear as law without cross checking in the bible?

I am practicing my faith walk better and building a strong relationship
with the Holy Ghost again

Heck if you only talk to your teacher once in a month and receive counsel once a month
what kind of student do you expect to be?

I hope the Holy Ghost does not consider me a visitor, with my constant coming and going
coming and going. If Someone has been sent to help you and you never even listen to
hear what He has to say. How can He help you?

So I am staying alert and staying sensitive to the Holy Spirit so that He can teach me
and counsel me and build me up to whom God has planned for me to be.

Shalom!

sharing...

You can call it a story or reality 
(I am publishing my book this year)

BEGINNING (I might just make it into a book)
The prose is written in the form of a letter, places with violence have interjections that look like this ***

Lord,
Imagine how much i enjoyed the weekend
watched many preachers teach, I grew almost ten feet tall, had a wonderful time in church apart from minor distractions.
I went home, got my hair done. My self esteem is soaring everyday, not just cos i look good ( i know i do) but cos i am beautiful inside and out.
So someone in the office says some nasty things that have particular targets (at me of course) and he is just so so  *** and i nearly lose control.
i said '***' under my breathe then i hold myself.
This self control thing is not as easy as i would like it to be.

I was feeling hurt, looking around and gathering my my tornadoes to destroy the people trying to decapacitate me then i remember that He (God) says that vengeance is His and that i am to love em'

I am trying this love stuff for the last 2 weeks or so. So I say under my breathe that I love them. The words sound like ashes in my mouth (lol, crazy painful) but I make myself say them because i choose to align me with God's word.

When i received the shot(verbal), no one knows more than me how my face wanted to squeeze up and crumple in tears *** but something inside me says 'greater is he that lives in me than he that lives in the world"
I know who i am, i cannot be defeated because all things are working together for my good because I love God and i am the called according to his purpose.

N.B. To end this, let me just say thank you God for strengthening my backbone. only God knows that Wednesday last week, i wanted to give up on my christian walk. God knows ever since September i have been having challenges upon challenge but i have been overcoming by the Spirit. My christian walk is all that sustains me and my r/ship with the H.spirit, as much as it has been like walking on cobwebs, it is the times he spoke to me that i received encouragement.

Let me say this direct to God. Lord, Friend, i saw those 'ivie's (two of em) wo obo when debai obo otion when. 

(No explanation necessary)

This is why i trusted you enough to move forward. I believe that you who began a good walk in me, you are faithful to complete it until the day of Christ.

Change...

I don't know if I am still doing the nano
but if you want, you can believe so

Today I will be talking about change
practical change
but change is not so practical
that you cannot see the supernatural as a road to that change

The bible says,
"...the things which are not seen are subject to change" 2 Corinthians 4:18

When you are a Christian, your faith cannot rest in the seen
Your faith must rest in the unseen, that is the faith.
When you want it to rest in the seen, it will not require faith
But resting in the unseen is the faith that overcomes the world.

Moving
Believing
Talking

When you believe, you speak!
When you speak, you see.

Shalom!

nano #6

Dancing in white...
white tube dress
white silk tights and
balle shoes
I am dancing around
and around the room
to the cheers of my onlookers
I am six years old

Dancing in white
a white body hug
and tight denim trousers
navy blue sneakers
I am dancing around and around
to a spice girls song
the title escapes me barely
I am 14 years old

Dancing in white
a white dress
black tights and heels
I am dancing around and around
to a nigerian musician
Psquare or Sound Sultan
I am not quite sure
It is graduation day and I am 21 years old

Dancing in white
a fabulous elegant gown
and silver slippers
in the arms of my groom
to a sentimental songs
I cannot hear the words
but the air is magical
Dancing around and around
I am 26 years old

dancing in white
a chic Ralph Lauren suit
sensible heels
to a party song
I am surrounded by three tots
they patter and patter
two boys and a girl watched
by my long time groom
I am 36 years old

dancing in white
a beautiful white dress
flat shoes
to a song that is poignant
but indescribable
I am surrounded by family
Its my only daughters day
she's getting married and leaving home
I am in my fifties

dancing in white
more dances than I have ever though of
I don't like dancing
Or do I
Wearing comfy foot wear
and doing what I'm used to
"waving my hands like I don't care"
Hey yo
I am in my seventies

The young ones think I am too old to dance
I laugh and tell them
"We invented the concept of dancing"
You haven't seen nothing yet.

P.S.
I'm not quite sure what the future looks like but I know dancing will not go out of fashion!
Peace

Explosive morning...

The pharisees gather
I have the arsenal to hurt them in my keeping
But I am discreet
I will not be using info to play a game that God is not in

So much was said
A lot was not faith

But God showed up at the end
and the prayers were in faith
what is God saying?
I don't know but I know that I am doing right

some still suffer from not having the teaching of righteousness
instead of learning, they fight the teaching
people perish from lack of knowledge
no be lie!

Can I really boast about anything?
No
God picked me and He did me good and I won't deny what He did for anyone
Not for any bully
I can't be bullied anyway
I just act as if I can
the kingdom rules keep me in check
but I could fight dirty, I simply choose not to.

I got into secondary school three years ahead of time
I couldn't be bullied, it won't start now.
I was actually even a bully in primary school, led my own pack
I don't move in packs anymore, I now move with the Holy Ghost

It makes some people mad but that is their problem.

Feel free to live your life devoid of 'life'if you choose to
You can't control everything because you are not the God of the universe
but you can partner with Him to do good
If you do bad, you will reap what you sow

God put the checks and balances in place for a reason
Maybe it was for people like you
He put them in place for man because the flesh is evil and has nothing good in it
But the Spirit
It is all-good.

Done!

Psst! Nano #5

I got to go
I am running late
Psst!
Stop disturbing me
I have no time for anyone
I got to make it
I have things down to a pat
My coach says I got to respect my job
enough to make it to work on time

If I don't make it to work on time
It will tell on me
and on my charts it will mean
that I am not being diligent
and if I aint being diligent
I don't qualify to stand before kings

I know who I am
I got to stand before kings
But before that happens
i got to be obeying God's principles
Or it will be my fault

I bend down to strap my shoes
I am on the run because on my charts
I must be early because I am not crazy
enough to do the same thing and expect
a different result

I am on the run
guess what
Its the morning craze
but I made it
I got in 8.55
I am being diligent
I am pleased
God is pleased

Now its time to work the other principles
God is dropping ideas
I got to implement them

NEWS FLASH
I am writing
I have started my biz
It is called 'Ïmagineit'
My phone number is 08130800741
My email is tessadoghor@gmail.com
I write, edit and publicize
I am also a social media consultant
@omojuwa helped me start this, just this morning
So if you need my help, do call or recommend me to your peeps.

Worship...

I learnt to praise

I chose to praise

I sometimes had the catalysts that caused me

to shout like I really didn't care

But 

Worship came naturally to me

It was like my nature

I could close my eyes and forget everything

but God

If you ask me how,

I can't say

I can only say that when I close my eyes

God takes over

Worship does wonders

I am always new

Like I have been bathed

after worship

This is a great weekend...

N.B

No nano until Tuesday

One thing that stay with me from this meet is this:

"The pleasure of the Lord will prosper in my hands"

Don't understand it all yet, but I will.

nano what number?

nanowrimo!

Thinking
Pondering
Looking, learning, talking
Making impact...
by the life of God in my spirit
by my words

I'm amazed
at the number of critical thoughts
running through my mind
not  surprised really

Gotta check mate it
need to read my bible more
so that loving thoughts come first
so much love that...
there is no room for criticism

at least in me
if nothing else
Cynicism, hate eats at fibre
not sure which fibre

But I got to listen
with my heart
lay down my gavel
I am not judge
don't want to be

I just want to learn at His feet
and perhaps
no surely
definitely manifest
the qualities of God

I don't want to be ugly
where it matters
what use is life (zoe)
if you won't let it out

Lord help me
I can't do this myself
One thing is clear
My desire if to follow...
YOU!

not the nano, just random blogging...

What is a washed up has-been?

What does a washed up has-been mean? How do you become a washed up has-been?

When you no longer believe anything or anyone, it means that you are used up; you’re old, unproductive and tired. If you ask me what the cure for this is: I’d say faith.

I have been ‘there’ where everything was just moving from day-to-day, do you know about that stuff in movies where the buses and the people move very quickly, it is all a blur. This is major depression! Do you know how I came out of it? I prayed like my life depended on it, like Jesus was my life-blood and if he did not give me life, I wouldn't live. I prayed for joy and enthusiasm and he gave it to me.

Never stay in that place where you are angry, cynical, joyless, vindictive, and anything else contrary to what is good. There are tiny lines between all kinds of attitudes so it can be difficult to see.

Have you ever heard of blind sides? This is what I say, Holy Spirit help me see my blind sides clearly than I see others, help me see my wrong attitudes faster than I see others and help me be conformed to You daily in Jesus name, amen.

God is awesome and wonderful and good. Your life will reflect what you focus on, you may not see any good if you cultivate a critical spirit. I am not saying don’t pay attention to detail. Those are some of the great things God has put in you to help you become what He has pre-planned for you. I am saying recognize the attitudes that are behind the words, thoughts and actions you take, whitewash yourself with Philippians 4:8. Ask God to cleanse your soul of wrong emotions and motives so you can see what He sees and see how He sees. Refuse to be overcome with evil, overcome evil with good after all you have God’s life in you and it is a self-sustaining life, mediate on that till the next article.

Zoe: life of God, life giving source, source of joy and peace and everything good, the power behind creativity. New things that are of God have come. Agree with it.

#2013goal Am I going to conform to my environment? Nope. My mind will be renewed to the word of God and is being renewed to the word of God.

I will still do my nano, because the nano is a poem. Cheers!

nano #3 something special

Today I did something unusual
I hadn't done it in a while
I helped make 'someones'life better today
many someone's

Many little girls of secondary school age
we took the gospel to them the best we could
I pray that every seed sown will yield increase
a multiplied harvest in Jesus name

Those young ladies represent little feet
I saw hearts poured out today
to help someone else, we had nothing to gain
but to help someone out there who can't help themselves

Today I felt like Jesus

I put Him on like a garment and I let Him reign
Speak, talk and act through me
This is life!

My day 2 'nano'

It's been a short day
So much to do, the time couldn't get away from me
Been moving from one interesting thing to the other
Finally maximizing time, I had forgotten that it was possible
To enjoy work so much, you want to work even when you are home

Lord I pray, bless the gifts of my hand so that it will make room for me
and I will finally make those millions I have been dreaming of
I thank you for idea's

It is possible. I know the terrain looks rough and many people
expect to not find water but I thank you because water will find me
No matter where I dig, water will seek because I am Abraham's seed

Water will locate me no matter where I am
Any time I dig (euphemism for seeking what God has put in me)
It will cause me to make increase in Jesus name amen.

Today is done
Tomorrow the seeking continues
I will fulfill my purpose and not another's
I was born for it so I won't struggle
I will just enter into it because I am perfectly made to do what I was created to
Even when I falter, I will lift my head and my eyes and my hands and i will reach
for what God is giving...
Water will find me.

The power of the mind
(Talk about something and its out!)

Starting my 'Nanowrimo' challenge...

The atmosphere is tense
suddenly my spine straightens
I somehow sense I have wondered into enemy territory
The nameless beasts lurking around looking for humans to do their bidding
strangely enough there be many which lie in wait eager to do the bidding
of the wicked

She lurks in the shadows trying to come into the light to which she already has access
fear, pain, anger, lust try to hold her down, they work at distracting her from what matters
battles real and imagined try to keep her from becoming, from venturing, from stretching for much
Maybe the Master doesn't want you to have too much
Maybe the beasts from the dark can come into the light also
Maybe even the creatures of the light who wander in darkness are a part of the plan also
O what is the plan? Pray tell.
Don't tell me, there is no big picture, because then what kind of movie would it be?
She crawls, she walks,. she runs and soon she's soaring
The creatures of the dark are still there, as vivid as they ever were before her eyes got opened

but now she can also see the hedge  clearly, they surround her but they can't hurt her
They are there, just waiting for her to give them a reason to push through a broken hedge
should she break it?
The angels are there also, but they aren't poised for battle almost like it wouldn't be necessary
for them to fight.

Elohim is present also

the One who makes her calm and confident
She is no longer scrambling and holding onto whatever for dear life
She is walking with Elohim beside her, moving steadily towards a destiny
How clear is it?

Not quite sure but there is a wide road on it and on both sides are all that represent
prosperity and goodness.
Why not? She is walking hand in hand with Elohim

The dark is still there lurking in the periphery should she take her eyes off Elohim, the angels,
beyond the hedge to the demons waiting to strike but alas they are null and void
ineffective because Elohim is there!

Smiling
laughing
Always peaceful

I kinda like this
Hope tomorrow will produce something better...

Speak from your heart...

My sis always says, "Speak from your heart" or "...don't bother at all".

Camp meeting is special to me.
Why?

It is where I go to be real with God
Even If I act all year round and condone the fights and the struggles
and the seeming uncertainties.

When its Easter, its like my heart just goes tender and every word can enter freely.
I come in
prepared to meet with God
To speak to Him
Cry to Him
Talk about the things that bother me

My dreams
My hopes
My plans
The things that I want to fulfill for the year

I come boldly
I come without fear
and without guilt
through the blood of Jesus

to spend time in God's presence
to be strengthened
To be rebuilt
restored and rejuvenated to conquer
to reign, to have dominion

I come to reign
to be taught of God
to be groomed by the Holy Ghost
to be all that God wants me to be

I come open
Exposed
I can do, and usually do all I want
in God's presence

I have a list of my desires
what I want to achieve
But I am always conscious and open
to His interruptions

When the Holy Ghost interrupts
Its always for good

So I go to camp expecting more than what the eyes can see
more than what the ordinary ears can hear
more than what the mind can comprehend

I come to be impacted and imparted by the Holy Ghost
So perhaps I can make impact like Jesus did

This is my desire, to be more like you, everywhere!

Favor isn't fair.

Camp is for change, it is also for seeming difficult poses. Focusing on the right things at camp can change your mind (to repent) and make difficult things easy.

If you contact the Holy Ghost by chance, its like meeting the sceptre of God, you will be able to change anything. If you are able to maintain a relationship with the Holy Ghost after camp, you will not only make immense profit, you will have undeniable peace to witness to your world about Jesus Christ.

Whatever you want at camp, you will get. You just have to settle down and think about what you want, write it down and ask God for it at camp meeting.

You might ask why camp?

Well, because many of us are distracted, busy, occupied and at camp, its like a holy time, when I say holy, I mean it is a time set aside unto God, we have picked this time and said, it is for God. Endeavor to make sure it is for God in mind and in body.

It is four days to camp. All I can say is make sure you enjoy camp, don't strive or struggle; just be conscious that God is there for you are camp meeting.

I always say: If God has stuff for only ten people, I am one of the ten, If he has for only one, I will be that One. Cos I have the favor of God. My sister's favorite phrase is 'favor aint fair'! In college, I used to say, I may not deserve it but you have reserved it. I take what you have reserved in Jesus name, amen. 

Truth: 

The truth is, I have not deserved a lot of the things I have received or do receive on a daily basis, but I always live conscious of a God who wants to give me everything I require, He doesn't want me to struggle either so I pray, Lord, help me stand out amongst a million people, I may not be the best but I will be favored because God favours me. God has honored me. This has helped me build my trust in Him. He keeps   His word and encourages me to do same (As I am able!).

Sometimes, you need to relax and let God favor you, if you have to work for everything in life, you may not be able to achieve all your dreams, sometimes you can just say: Lord give me divine acceleration, cause me to stand before kings, to have favor in the sight of the men that matter. Cause me to stand out amongst millions in Jesus name, amen.

The amazing thing is that God has something for everyone, do give him the time of the day.

Most of all, during camp, seek His face and He will come to you. As for me, I am seeking His face also!

#100thingsaboutme ..

New me!

Old picture? Yeah. Till I get a Nokia camera, expect to see only this picture on my post! I saw it on a couple of blogs and I decided, "Hey, Imma do the 100 things about me"

So here goes:

1. Last drink: Coca cola
2. Last phone call: My kid sister; Claudine
3. Last text message:  My darling sister, Rose
4. Last song you listened to: Nichole Nordeman - Brave (Its my new thing, I get new songs every month)
5. Last time you cried: 2 weeks ago or so.

SIX HAVE YOU EVER:
6. Dated someone twice: No way, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.
7. Been cheated on: Nope, if he ever did, I never did find out.
8. Kissed someone: Yes
9. Lost someone special: My grandma. 30th June of 2012
10. Been depressed: Yes, I used to be.
11. Been drunk and threw up: No

LIST FOUR FAVORITE COLORS:
12. Orange
13. Brown
14. Cream
15. White

HAVE YOU:
16. Made new friends:  No
17. Fallen out of love: I pray.
18. Laughed until you cried: Yeah, definitely
19. Met someone who changed you: Yes I have (some great people God sent my way).
20. Found out who your true friends were: Yes, so many times.
21. Found out someone was talking about you: Heck, almost everyday, I learnt to ignore.
22. Kissed anyone on your friends list: No
23. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: On face book, about a thousand of them.
25. Do you have any pets: No. But I love puppies
26. Do you want to change your name: Why would I do that?
27. What did you do for your last birthday: I was out of town. Ate out and hung out with friends.
28. What time did you wake up today: 3.00 am
29. What were you doing at midnight last night: Sleeping off the day's hassles!
30. Name something you CANNOT wait for: To fulfill my purpose.
31. Last time you saw your father:  3 days ago; he's travelled.
32. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life:  Maybe more money? More drive or more passion.
33. What are you listening to right now: Nichole Nordeman, Mali Music
34. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: No 
35. What’s getting on your nerves right now?: I stay calm a lot, nothing much can get on my nerves; I keep things in perspective.

36. Most visited webpage: twitter.com
37. Current city: Lagos, Nigeria (Las Gidi)
38. Nicknames: Tessy, T-girl, T-babee, Tere
39. Relationship Status: Single
40. Zodiac Sign: Virgo
41. Male or female : Female 
42. Primary School: Nigerian Navy Primary School, Ojo
43. Middle School: Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Ojo
44. High school: Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Ojo

45. Hair color:  Brown
46. Long/medium/short: Short
47. Height: 5 4'
48. Do you have a crush on someone: No (I'm a big girl, I don't do crushes)
49: What do you like about yourself: My idiosyncracies, never quite sure what I will do.
50. Piercings: None
51. Tattoos: Never getting any/pretty sure
52. Righty or Lefty: Righty

FIRSTS:
53. First Surgery: None
54. First Piercing: Ears (at birth)
55. First Best Friend: Amaka .E (a twin)
56. First Sport you Joined: 400 meters in Js3 then volley ball in senior secondary and during my NYSC camp, two days a week.
57. First Pet: My mom hates pets so I have never had any.
58. First Vacation:  I went to benin for a month in 1992, then Kaduna for a month in 1994
59. First Concert: In Unilag, so many I can't remember the first. But it must have been at "The Rock Foundation" in 1999 my second year in college
60. First Crush: I was 11, it was a neighbor, cool guy.

RIGHT NOW:
61. Eating: Nothing
62. Drinking: I want a bottle of coca cola but won't take any today
63. Already missing: My siblings in Benin
64. I’m about to: Write, write, write (I wonder if I am keeping up with my deadline but my prayers are certainly been answered, it is good to write down #2013 goals, I can see it taking shape already).
65. Listening to: My office mate wants the office quiet and today, so do I.
66. Thinking about: My business, I need to start my business this year, I want financial freedom; don't want to have to worry about money, Father; increase in Jesus name, amen.
67. Waiting for: Camp Meeting. Praying I can get to the next level this year, not just words but a response from God. I don't waste my words, I think God honors that.

YOUR FUTURE:
68. Want kids: 3 of them
69. Want to get married: I will
70. Careers in mind: To write, to have a business of my own and to spread the gospel (simple enough; but it has all got to be world standard, there's too much in me to just be ordinary; I could never be satisfied with being ordinary).

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?
71. Lips or eyes: Eyes
72. Hugs or kisses: Hugs
73. Shorter or taller: Taller!
74. Older or Younger: Older.
75. Romantic or spontaneous: Spontaneous
76. Nice stomach or nice arms: Both
77. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive
78. Hook-up or relationship: Marriage
79. Trouble maker or hesitant: None of the above

HAVE YOU EVER:
81. Drank hard liquor: Does champagne qualify as hard liquor. My parents were party starters so I grew up with every
82. Lost glasses/contacts: I have 20/20 vision, I am a ravenous reader, if I had bad eye sight, I'd have to be careful but I don't have to, it is one of the reasons I am thankful to God.
83. Kissed on 1st date: Nope
84: Broken someone’s heart: Nope
85. Had your own heart broken: I wouldn't put it that way, I had expectations that was not quite there; this young ladies heart is with God. Its not mine to give away (Sounds spiritual abi?)
86. Been arrested: No
87. Turned someone down: I don't understand your question but I probably have, it is part of life.
88. Cried when someone died: My grandma, I can't describe it. Too sacred to commonize.
89. Liked a friend that is of the same sex: No, I am not gay neither do I have tendencies.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
90. Yourself: Big time, can be over confident a lot of times
91. Miracles: Yes, I have experienced miracles, God is too good to me and my family.
92. Love at first sight: No.
93. Heaven: Yes, I do. With my whole heart.
94. Santa Claus: For what? I believe in Jesus Christ
95. Kissing on the first date: Not a good idea, so don't believe in that!
96. Angels: You wan try. I have had so much angelic ministration, God is like my rear guard and fore guard.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
97. Is there one person you want to be with right now?: No. I am on a fast. Can't date anyone for a year.
98. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time?: No. Just one.
99. Wish you could change things in your past?: No. It has shaped me and made me who I am today. I would have been a different person with a shallow relationship with God. Truly, no!
100. Are you posting this as 100 Truths?:  No. I am posting as a `100 things about me.

Heart check!

Usually preparation for camp was prayer, consecration and list of the things I wanted God to do for me.

I will be doing that this year also
But considering myself grown up, I will also be asking God for a list of things, I don't know how many that I will do for God.

So with all the campaign
I want to prepare myself and my heart

Also making it a point of duty to walk in love, pursue peace
Manifest the fruit of the Spirit
Desire to conform the image of Christ
etc

I gotta go!

See you tomorrow, no pics today.

Building up...

Just got back from Ajao
I'd be kidding If I told you that I have the whole picture of what I am doing in Ajao
But I guess that is what faith is; what walking by faith is.
I can't see the complete picture

I have some struggles
because I see amongst us our weakness so clearly
I have travelled that road so I know when you alienate a person
It is more difficult to reach them even with the word

I am  doing my best to love everyone, honestly I am not trying too hard
Lest I come across as fake
I am just hanging out there so that if there is an opportunity for God to use me
to speak words that would set another free, it will come up

I am just being me, doing what I love and hanging out with peeps
I am learning to overlook faults, go with the flow and stick with God's will
Obeying His instructions and still working according to what He has called me to do
Sometimes they are easy and sometime they are difficult but it is one more footstep
in the direction of destiny.

Two random guests.

Camp Meeting is going to be great!

Wrote this for a job interview in 2007

An enemy of the ordinary is a person who thinks outside the box and gives spectacular solutions to problems. Such individuals rise above the expectations they set for themselves, the expectation others set for them and go the extra mile to be extraordinary.

Ordinary people abound but the fewer extraordinary people detest mediocrity, break protocol and rules and come up with mind blowing answers to problems. They stand out (just added the last three words)

Example: Bukky and Onome are given similar assignments: to think up a small business that will make profit in a short time, Bukky comes up with the idea of selling corporate gifts , while Onome comes up with the idea of opening a car wash.

When the time limit for the assignments are up, Onome ends up making almost three times Bukky's profit. While Bukky sold her corporate gifts to upper class clients, Onome's car wash was open to all and she added a small incentive of a free gift anytime a client used her car wash and the cars were washed by young and attractive females and males.While both idea's were terrific, Bukky was thinking like a regular entrepreneur while Onome was thinking like a dynamic entrepreneur because she was thinking of raising her sales.

To be the enemy of the ordinary, aside the wonderful qualities you need to possess, you must think on your feet, be creative and open to change.

NOW 

I ask myself:Do I think on my feet?When the occasion arises, I do.Am I creative?Yeah, I breathe creativityAm I open to change?I doubt it. I think I am acting like a cement rockThinking.... 

God was and is still my provision!!!

Monica and I, we are like sisters, she encourages me and I do same for her.

Okay I promised to say my testimony from college. In my final year, I had a spill over and unknown to me, my dad got retired and so there wasn't any money and I had to choose between waiting a year and going back to school that year with nothing. I had no money  ,no way to get money  scratch that, I had started making hats in my final year for fun. But that was God's way of sustaining me in that year, if I wanted to eat, I would have to work first. Those were the days I learnt to believe God for provision but if I didn't make any money I would go to bed hungry. God came through a lot of times and I learnt to hear the Spirit of God's direction.

My sister was working in Yaba at the time so I used to go home with her. One particular day, a friend came across me and told me she would be going home that weekend that I should go with her, my proud self declined and told her, no thanks, I will go with my sis, I will just wait till 5 pm. She went and came several times till I agreed to go home with her. On getting home, I discovered that my sister was having a meeting in Ikeja, I would have been seriously stranded for like the first time in my life.

When I moved back to school, I had only two pair of jeans and maybe three tops, it was like poverty came on me suddenly, I had a lot of clothes just the semester before then, my self esteem was shot to pieces, I was sad and ever having a 'pity party'. I was staying with some girls out of having nowhere to stay. One night after I had been starving for 4 days, Ifeanyi (one chic like that, very good friend) came to buy me dinner at SUB, as we walked down towards church, someone jumped at me and hugged me tight, saying 'Where have you been hiding in this school?' insisting that I must move in with her. I was going to hurriedly say hi and rush away but she was making all sorts of offers. I couldn't be an ungrateful person to my previous host so i told her to let me finish out the semester (2 weeks) and then I would move to her room.

Needless to say, I was very glad but did not remember to thank God at midnight (at the time I had a midnight quiet time). I moved in with her (her name is Ena and we became friends in Year 1) and she gave me about 10 tops I wore on my pairs of jeans, I was so happy and my new room mates nurtured me, till I looked good again, at least passable. They made sure I didn't go hungry or feel uncomfortable asking for things, they never waited for me to ask. They ate my food with me and made sure I ate their food with them. My hungry days in school were over.

Only God could have done this, Unilag girls are not known for being nice so for 6 girls to be nice, that was just God. They were a covering for me. I became a part of their family. They never even complained about me praying at night, ironic that in the Christian room they had a problem with it. These girls who were from Christian homes but hadn't made a decision let me pray to my heart's delight.

Partly because some girl had tried to initiate them into a mammy water cult the semester before, a situation that called for all the parents to gather in school to pray for their daughters and the mammy water girl moved to another room sha!

Pretty long!

So long, tomorrow, I will share something, I am not sure what yet.

My race of life!

What is she looking at?

Okay I am asking what I am looking at right?

I am looking and the sun and thinking how its attributes resemble the son

I promised a t-shirt pix, ta da!

Not so nice

But the best I can come up with at such short notice

I am handy with a camera and I am going to be taking so many pics, many heads will spin.

I am set to go to camp

Yeah, right.

Tomorrow, I will be posting more camp pics and of course telling one of my testimonies from back in college.

Tis where I learn endurance and perseverance and resilience

I believe that nothing can hold me down 

because I have the life of God in me

Yes, I have been depressed before, gotten a lot of hard knocks

you'll hear tomorrow how I overcame

But it was mostly because I believed that Jesus was whom He said He was.

That was my greatest strength

She's set to go, to run her race, to make great iMpact.

I'm counting down to camp

It is in 23 days time!!!

Yield...learn it!

"In Him was light and the light was the life of men..." (Somewhere in the book of John 1)

Camp is here again!

I can't say that I haven't become jaded.

I am just hoping that in spite of my jadedness the Spirit of God can become new to me again, as new as He was to me the first time I met Him. That I can put away all of the stuff that distracts and focus on the God who is speaking always and saying 'attend to my word...'

I read some part of Proverbs 2 and I realized that I needed the wisdom of God again. I am tired of playing church, doing as you should, so busy always doing my duty that there is no time to relate with God. And all the relating I do with other people is not benefiting my life as I would benefit if I gave that much time to relating with God. Well I pray that those four days will truly be separated to God and not to duty.

That said, I am excited, t-shirt wearing begins on Tuesday so chances are that you will see me wearing my t-shirt and gearing myself up to work on the fruit of the Spirit, how have I been doing so far, at least I remember that there is such a thing as the fruit of the Spirit, as soon as I get that covered, I will be walking in the Spirit.

Hate jokes, especially when it aint funny. Second thing is that I actually am funny so maybe its a superiority complex but nah, I don't think so, I did away with that when I got born again.

Cheerio 

See you Tuesday\

I should be wearing a T-shirt look then.